Nicola Pasuch / BOLOGNA
The first and only defeat of the season after 14 consecutive victories forced Da Rold Logistics Belluno to look for a feat in the second leg of the Serie B playoff final against Geetit.
The guys of coach Poletto, after the 3-1 collected in Bologna, will have to obtain a three-point victory and then also win the golden set.
Saturday at 8 pm, in the De Mas fort, the people of Belluno will be able to count on the support of the public friend. They will have to start from that third set dominated at Pala Lercaro and from a partial fourth played on a par with the Bolognese. Basically, it will be necessary to shake off that initial tension (which is understandable in a game of this value that is giving away promotion to A3) which, for two sets, prevented Colussi and his companions from expressing themselves on the usual levels.
Poletto and the Gallina card
At the foot of the sanctuary of San Luca, it was Captain Gallina, on Saturday, who shook his followers. Having entered the final of the second set, he increased the team’s performance in the last two partials, achieving high percentages both in reception (79%) and in attack (67%).
“In the first two sets it just wasn’t us. We have made a lot of direct mistakes. When you are so wrong », he comments Luca Gallina, “It is inevitable that this will happen. Above all, we struggled to keep our opponents at bay with the wall-defense correlation. In the third set, however, we played very well, we resumed doing what we know how to do. And so also in the fourth, which was very tight. The opponents proved to be very good but we will prepare for the return match hoping not to give two sets for free, as we did in Bologna. We paid for some tension. Perhaps we also suffered a little from the pressure of the opposing public. In any case, when you lose you always look for various explanations, but the truth is that on the whole the opponents deserved to win ».
All is not lost …
«We will evaluate the mistakes made and we will follow the indications that coach Diego Poletto will give us. I guess we will have to work on the defense wall. But we must understand that we simply need to play our game. We lost three sets in the whole championship, before Bologna: we can still take it home ».
THE PRESIDENT DA ROLD IS CONFIDENT
Patron Sandro Da Rold attended the first leg final.
«In the first two sets», comments the president of Volleyball Belluno, «we were completely out of the game. Perhaps we have suffered from the heat, from the opposing public, from the lights, from a very small building. The fact is that for two sets we were unable to enter the game. The third, on the contrary, was the demonstration that we could have our say in this match. Everything went right and we won it clearly. Finally, in the fourth, we witnessed two top-level teams which, in my view, have shown that they both deserve the A3 series ».
What is the mood in view of race-2?
«For the return match I am confident», assures Da Rold, «because we play at home, in a building that will be very difficult for our opponents. We will also have the public on our side. Plus we have a week to improve by working on the mistakes made ».
SATURDAY FANS AT DE MAS
In the stands of De Mas in Belluno, on Saturday, the public (albeit in limited numbers) will return to be present for the first time this season.
«There may be no more than 125 people in the stands», explains the accompanying manager Riccardo Zanolli, «therefore in the next few hours we will give detailed information on the number of seats left free. We have reserved a dozen of them for Bologna, as they did with us, and first of all we gave our players the opportunity to let their families watch the game. It can only be accessed by reservation and we ask everyone to arrive at the sports hall at least half an hour in advance, therefore by 7.30 pm, with the self-certification, which we will also make available through our channels, already filled in. At 19.55, in fact, the doors of the De Mas will close and no one else will be able to access it. Naturally, the distancing will be respected and the places will be numbered ».
SUNDAY THE CORTINA EXPRESS
The next day, at 6 pm, again at De Mas, it will be the turn of the Cortina Express, committed against BlueTorino in the first leg of the B2 women’s playoffs. Coach Pavei’s girls will then travel to Volpiano, Piedmont, on Saturday 26 June at 9 pm, in the return match that will offer B1.